This book is an entry in the William Stafford Calligraphy Project and also the first in what I hope to be a series of small books that present two poems together. When I read Stafford’s “Allegiances,” I couldn’t help being reminded of Joachim du Bellay’s famous sonnet “Heureux qui, comme Ulysse.” Presenting the two poems interwoven in different hands and colors has an interesting effect, and the combination of lovely papers gives me great pleasure.

The book (along with many fabulous pieces by other members of the Portland Society for Calligraphy) will be on display at three different locations this year.

This work is a commission based on Job 38:4. The client chose a short verse, but I wanted to include some of the delightful language from the surrounding chapters about the mysteries of the sea, the wind, and the creatures of the earth. The flowing lines of poetry grew from an early concept that involved geological layers—the foundation of the earth.